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Wind power in Washington

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Wind Turbines above Walla Walla River in Washington

With the completion of the initial phase of the Lower Snake River Wind Project in February, 2012, Washington has over 2,800 megawatts (MW) of wind power generation capacity. In 2011 6,209 million kilowatt-hours of electricity were generated from wind power in Washington.[1]

At the end of 2011, Washington had 2573 MW of installed wind power generating capacity[2] and was one of the top five states in terms of generating capacity.

State legislative support

Wind resource map at 50 m above ground

Initiative 937 requires electric utilities with 25,000 or more customers to have 15 percent of their power supply generated from renewable resources by 2020. Washington state has sales tax exemptions for wind energy. Washington state provides utility grants, loans and rebates for wind power.[3]

Notable projects

See also: List of power stations in Washington
Wind Farm Northeast of Walla Walla, Washington
Name Location Capacity (MW) Status Ref
Windy Point Wind Farm Klickitat County 400 Operational [4]
Wild Horse I Kittitas County 273 Operational [4]
Marengo Wind Farm Columbia County 211 Operational [4]
White Creek Wind Farm Klickitat County 205 Operational [4]
Big Horn Wind Farm Klickitat County 200 Operational [4]
Stateline Wind Farm Walla Walla County 177 Operational [4]
Hopkins Ridge Wind Farm Columbia County 385 Operational [5]
Lower Snake River Wind Project Garfield County 342.7 Operational [4]

Capacity

Potential

While originally estimated to have nearly 4,000 megawatts of potential onshore capacity by the American Wind Energy Association, a comprehensive update of the wind energy potential by state released in 2010 by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory showed that Washington has potential to install over 18,000 megawatts of onshore wind power.[6]

Washington ranks 24th in its potential for onshore wind generation,[7] but has the potential to install 120,964 MW of offshore wind farms, capable of generating 488,025 GWh/year.[8]

Installed

Installed wind power capacity in Washington has seen strong growth in recent years and Washington now ranks among the top ten states with the most wind power installed. Wind power accounted for 5.3% of total electricity generated in Washington during 2011.[9]

The table below shows the growth in wind power installed nameplate capacity in MW for Washington since 1999.[10]

Washington's wind power generating capacity has been steadily increasing since 2005.

Wind generation

Washington Wind Generation in 2011
Washington Wind Generation (GWh, Million kWh)
Year Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
2009 3,572 321 164 428 329 329 343 235 335 282 307 334 161
2010 4,745 239 146 404 608 512 491 401 447 361 348 402 329
2011 6,209 514 491 513 733 555 619 506 546 367 497 499 358
2012 575 518 773 612 676 711 461 476 325 528 386

Source:[11][12]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Electric Power Monthly, February 2012". U.S. Energy Information Administration. February, 2012. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  2. ^ AWEA 2011 4th quarter market report
  3. ^ "Washington Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency". Database of State incentives for renewable energy. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Staff (July 2010). "U.S. Wind Energy Projects - Washington". American Wind Energy Association. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
  5. ^ Hopkins Ridge
  6. ^ National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2010-02-04). "State wind energy potential (2010)". U.S. Department of Energy. Retrieved 2010-07-31.
  7. ^ "Wind Energy Facts - Washington" (PDF). AWEA. 2011-08. Retrieved 2012-01-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Renewable Energy Technical Potential
  9. ^ "AWEA Annual Report 2011". American Wind Energy Association. April 12, 2012. Retrieved April 14, 2012.
  10. ^ "Wind Powering America: Installed U.S. Wind Capacity and Wind Project Locations". U.S. Department of Energy. April 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-30.
  11. ^ EIA (July 27, 2012). "Electric Power Monthly Table 1.17.A." United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  12. ^ EIA (July 27, 2012). "Electric Power Monthly Table 1.17.B." United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
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